| Title |
Stuart C. Headford, Stratford, Connecticut: an interview by Matthew Stuart, August 20, 2005: Saving the Legacy tape no. 734 |
| Alternative Title |
Stuart C. Headford, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Headford, Stuart C., 1940- |
| Contributor |
University of Utah. American West Center; Stuart, Matthew O. |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2005-08-05 |
| Date Digital |
2015-12-16 |
| Access Rights |
I acknowledge and agree that all information I obtain as a result of accessing any oral history provided by the University of Utah's Marriott Library shall be used only for historical or scholarly or academic research purposes, and not for commercial purposes. I understand that any other use of the materials is not authorized by the University of Utah and may exceed the scope of permission granted to the University of Utah by the interviewer or interviewee. I may request permission for other uses, in writing to Special Collections at the Marriott Library, which the University of Utah may choose grant, in its sole discretion. I agree to defend, indemnify and hold the University of Utah and its Marriott Library harmless for and against any actions or claims that relate to my improper use of materials provided by the University of Utah. |
| Spatial Coverage |
Cuba |
| Subject |
Headford, Stuart C., 1940- --Interviews; Veterans--United States--Biography; Sailors--United States--Biography; United States--Navy--Biography; Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 |
| Keywords |
USS Independence; Mediterranean Sea; Cuban blockade; Veterans of Foreign Wars |
| Description |
Transcript (xx pages) of an interview by Matthew Stuart with Stuart C. Headford on August 20, 2005. From tape number 734 in the "Saving the Legacy" Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Mr. Headford was born on December 5, 1940, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He joined the Navy in 1959 and received training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois. He was assigned to the USS Independence CV-62 and served there until discharged in June 1963. During his service he participated in 3 Mediterranean cruises and in the naval blockade during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He tells of his experiences during that time. He was in the Reserves as a Seabee in Rhode Island and retired in 1997. Interviewed by Matthew Stuart. 22 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
22 pages |
| Language |
eng |
| Rights |
 |
| Scanning Technician |
Mazi Rakhsha |
| Conversion Specifications |
Original scanned with Kirtas 2400 and saved as 400 ppi uncompressed TIFF. PDF generated by Adobe Acrobat Pro X for CONTENTdm display |
| ARK |
ark:/87278/s6qn88v4 |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; Sailors; Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1033963 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6qn88v4 |
| Title |
Page 13 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1033953 |
| OCR Text |
Show T ART C. HEADFORD 2 200 MAT: o it was more like joke things not like serious stuff. My grandfath r, b fi r h passed away told me that when he was on board a Navy ship they did a big initiati n when they crossed the equator. They did all this stuff to them. I guess that wa a Navy tradition? STU: Right, when you sailed across the equator, you become "Shellback". "King Neptune" presides over the initiation. There' s a ritual that new men go through. Having not done that, I don't know. I never crossed the equator so I don't know. [Editor's note: Initiation when crossing the equator is a Naval Tradition that goes back hundreds of years. Sailors crossing the equator for the first time are called "Pollywogs". Experienced sailors, previously initiated, are called "Shell backs ". The Shellbacks, usually enlisted men, conduct a mock ceremony that involves inflicting various humiliations on the Pollywogs. One Shellback calling himself King Neptune presides over the "ceremony" during which the Pollywogs may be shaved, smeared with paint or grease, be forced to wear demeaning apparel, run a gauntlet of Shell backs or be forced to crawl through garbage, dunked, hosed, forced to eat or drink disgusting concoctions, and whatever else the Shellbacks can think of and get away with. Officer ((Pollywogs" are not exempt from initiation. With women serving on most Navy ships now, ceremonies have no doubt been toned down compared to what they were in the past. At the conclusion of the ceremonies, King Neptune declares the initiates Shell backs. An official certificate to that effect is placed into their Navy records. A similar initiation, inducting sailors into the order of the ((Golden Dragon " may be conducted when a sailor crosses the international dateline in the Pacific for the first time.] MAT: How did your time in the Navy affect your life after that? 13 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6qn88v4/1033953 |
